With only 2 days to go until the live-action film on my favourite childhood Disney princess, Cinderella, debuts in theatres worldwide, there are more exciting news for us Disney fans! I’d really wanted to post this a month ago but better late than never, I suppose!

Frozen Sequel

Firstly, Frozen fans will be treated to a 7-minute long featurette called Frozen Fever before the feature film, Cinderella. However, unlike the Tangled sequel, Tangled Ever After, there will be no wedding taking place (cue sigh of disappointment), but rather a birthday party for Anna, which takes place a few months after Frozen. (But we were really hoping for a wedding between Anna and Kristoff! Ah well, at least we were given a wedding in ABC’s Once Upon a Time last month, so I suppose we cannot complain.)

Animated Costumes!

From the sneak peek picture, we can see that Elsa has a new floral spring-version of her ice queen gown, an emerald ombre fitted gown trimmed with what looks like pink water lilies. Anna’s new frock, on the other hand, is not as dazzling as her sister’s. The first thing I thought of was, ‘This looks like a princess Brownies dress.’ It’s a summer combination of three dresses she’d worn in Frozen: the coronation ball gown, the seeking Elsa dress, and the ‘plain’ finale dress. The embroidered sunflowers certainly suit Anna, but I am not particularly fond of the sleeveless bolero over the short-sleeved top.

What do you think of the new dresses?

Beauty and the Beast: The Film

The best news, however, is that there will be another Disney live-action film featuring my second favourite Disney princess, Belle! Many may relate to Belle because of her love for books but for me, it’s the fact that she didn’t feel like she fit in anywhere.

The beauteous and intelligent Emma Watson, perhaps still endearingly remembered as Hermione to many (except for me, the Harry Potter ignorant), has already been cast as the heroine of the new Beauty and the Beast. Who is to be the Beast/Prince? The lucky man is Dan Stevens, also known as the late Matthew Crawley who shattered our hearts – especially Lady Mary’s – in the Downton Abbey 2012 Christmas special. When I first heard the news, I was a wee bit disappointed, as I tried to compare Dan Stevens to the torn portrait of the prince in Beauty and the Beast. (The Prince, I must add, is the most handsome one of all, though Prince Phillip comes close.) Yet when I found some photos of Dan as Sir Lancelot in the latest Night at the Museum film series, I could see the resemblance.

From Watson’s Facebook post, we can already expect this film to be closer to the original animation, with plenty of singing and dancing! We’ll need plenty of patience as filming will begin later this year and will premiere in 2016 on 17th March 2017.

I trust and hope that the film will remind viewers that Belle was another good role model who was not only considerate but selfless. She was a loving daughter who sacrificed herself so that her father could go free and when he became ill, she left the Beast (with permission) to tend to him. She defends the ones she loves from slander, namely her ‘eccentric’ father and the ‘monstrous’ Beast, and points out their good qualities. There are many other examples in the animation of how Belle thought of others before herself, and I’m sure we will learn more about Belle in the new film.

Costume Brainstorming

In the meantime, I am already dreaming of what Belle’s costumes in the new film will look like. I do not know who selects the costume designers but I hope the designer will create something as magical as the blue ball gown Sandy Powell designed for Cinderella or as opulent as the gowns in France’s La Belle et le Bete, which came out last February. I really like the breathtaking drawing of Watson as Belle (see illustration here) that xChasingPavementsx has shared on Reddit. Looking at the dresses that Belle has worn in the two Beauty and the Beast animations, I envision Belle wearing a golden gown (to symbolise that she has a heart of gold) in maybe 1780’s (if I have the correct time period) meets 1950’s (must be able to twirl!). What can I say, I love elbow-length sleeves with ruffles, a fitted waistline, and long swirling skirts! The Enchanted Christmas burgundy gown is my favourite of Belle’s dresses.

One thing I would like to add to the golden ball gown would be roses, like the ones on the coronation gown that Emily Blunt wore in Young Victoria. The roses would remind viewers of the enchanted rose in the animation and the gift of a rose (Beauty asks her father to bring back a rose for her) in the original versions.